Nixon on U.S. Power

In response to excerpts from Richard Nixon’s book “Seize the Moment: America’s Challenge in a One Superpower World” and his postscript on Vietnam, Opinion and Commentary, Jan. 5-10:

Nixon (“How America Can Use Its Super Power to Advance Freedom,” Jan. 5) is correct to say that we are the only superpower, but only within the traditionally dominant (Cold War) ideological framework in which the only institutions that really matter are military ones. In the economic world, there are three “superpowers”: Western Europe and Japan, which are becoming stronger, and the United States, which is not.

It’s pretty clear that his ideas to “recast our foreign policy to deal with this radically new situation,” the end of the Cold War, are not new at all, because he actually defines all of our interests according to their subordination to the “security of the United States.” The concept of national security is never spelled out, even in terms of “democracy” and “freedom,” because it is axiomatic. So it is not surprising to read once again that it is more important for us to protect places like the Persian Gulf, Mexico and Korea (U.S. security), than it is for Arabs, Mexicans and Koreans to protect themselves (democracy, freedom).

JEROME KELLY, Fullerton